How sorely the Amadeus
Quartet and the Everest-high standards they set are missed, and the compulsive
listening to anything unlocked from this treasure trove could not be highlighted
more than by the miraculous playing on this disc.

Few discs have ever afforded
me more pleasure than that which I have derived from this splendidly conceived
anthology of sacred music. In his introduction to the accompanying booklet
, producer John Rutter describes the album's theme as being 'the music of
heaven and our journey to heaven'.

Here are two more releases
in ASV's series celebrating the best of British light music which refreshingly
get away from the same two dozen or so titles (welcome as they are) which
crop up on so many other British light music compilations on CD. Although
some composers are common to both issues, they are very different.....there
is indeed richness here.

..........breathtaking
string sonorities that are as resplendent as they are luminous. Where many
conductors can take Franck's darkened palate and somehow turn it into a glutinous
morass of density, Celibidache separates balances so violin and cello lines
are spliced together and then splayed apart like a fragmented
rainbow.

There is some attractive
music here, though none of it is of especially high quality. Perhaps predictably,
the best piece is the Scarlatti, though the de Almeida motet is worth listening
to, as is the Mass by Esteves.

A fine set of historic
significance and generating considerable interest both for what it is and
as an 'overture' to future recordings of the complete Glass, Sandby and Simonsen.
The 'axle' work here is the Glass - a work which will yet secure a prominent
reputation and, more to the point, great affection among music-lovers.
Recommended.

There is far, far more
than academic interest here; these recordings present music-making of the
highest order, and give a flavour of the richness and power of this important
source of European musical inspiration. Most of the arrangements are attractive
and tasteful, and they are superbly performed by the sisters
Pasichnyk.

There is no question
that the music on this disc sounds well, for it is beautifully recorded in
an ample and clear acoustic, and the performers are of the hghest calibre,
sensitively directed by Søren Birch.

Some of my best arguments
have been about hymns, until I came to realise that musical value judgements
have precious little to do with it.....What I am trying to say is that "Great
hymns of the twentieth century" is a risky title that is likely to mean in
reality a selection of those with particular meaning for the compiler of
the anthology. In Wells taste tends toward the high Anglican, with Malcolm
Archer favouring broad, dignified tempi.

When you are jaded with
the complexities of Boulez, bored by the repetitiveness of Reich and overwhelmed
by the massive constructions of Mahler and Bruckner, turn to English String
Miniatures - Volume 2 on Naxos. This is a stunning CD. Never be put off simply
by the fact that it is described as 'miniatures'. The works on this disk
are all miniature masterpieces and deserve to be firmly entrenched in the
orchestral repertoire - and not necessarily just as
'encores.'

Your first reaction on
reading the heading above might well be to click that mouse button and quickly
move on to the next review. But hold fast! Here is an extraordinary
CD that will doubtless rate as one of my records of the year and deserves
a hearing from anyone with the slightest interest in contemporary
music.

This disc offers much
to commend in both the choice of programme and sensitive performances by
the Choir of Queen's College. Most of all it leaves a desire to further explore
the music of the fine composers represented.

This fascinating disc,
spanning the music of three centuries, provides an authoritative overview
of the instrument's development as well as of its solo repertoire. Each of
these pieces is a winner. A further delight of this disc is Julia Seager's
accompanying programme booklet, rich in basic information about the harp,
its development and repertoire.

The keynote is energy
and a zest for life, and dance is never far away. The chief reason to add
this to your collection is Revueltas, whose originality is evident
in the quirky, anarchic polytonal Eight times radio for an odd assortment
of eight instruments and Sensemaya for a huge orchestra with Latin &
Indian instruments to reinforce the 'small army of percussion'.

This set throws up some
interesting pianistic comparisons....Destined by its very nature to be a
mixed bag, this two-disc set ended up being more stimulating than one might
have originally thought. And that's no bad thing.

I hope this disc goes
at least some way to banishing those (admittedly very funny) viola jokes
to oblivion. Inoue champions the music of all of the composers on the disc
wholeheartedly this disc will bring a great deal of pleasure and more
than its fair share of discoveries

An interesting disc featuring
three concertos which although not the most musically memorable of works,
demonstrate and communicate an impressive understanding of the man and instrument
which inspired them.

....But one swallow does
not a summer make and with a rather harsh and close recording (the violin
a little backward, bathed in what appears to be added artificial reverberation),
and one of the least attractive covers I have yet seen on a professionally
released CD, Tango Intimo can, for most of us, be safely given a
miss.

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